Until He Comes Home
by Higuchimon
Summary: Takato waits for Hirokazu to come home through an extremely rough snowstorm.


_**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the canon characters who appear in this fanfic and am not writing this for any form of profit.  
**Title:** Waiting Up   
**Timeline:** Digimon Tamers, several years post-anime.   
**Romance:** Hirokazu x Takato, traces of Ruki x Renamon and Ryou x Kenta   
**Notes:** This was written for Artist Josie for Christmas 2001.   
**Summary:** Takato waits for his lover Hirokazu to come home through an extremely rough snowstorm._

The snow was falling. It was thick and cold, virtually impossible to see through. It had been coming down all day, and it didn't look as if it were going to be stopping any time in the near future. _Or at all._ Takato thought half-miserably to himself as he watched flake after flake blow down. _Where is he?_ The question had been going over and over in his head for three hours now. The three hours since Hirokazu _should_ have been home and wasn't.

He probably shouldn't remain here at the window. But there was nowhere else he wanted to be. The phone was by his hand in case anyone called. He was as warm as he could be, despite staring out at the cold weather. Guilmon was snoozing in his room, so he didn't even have his partner to disturb his silence. Not that he minded; Guilmon had acquired _some_ maturity over the years, but at times he was still just an overgrown kid. _Like me._ Takato smiled to himself at the thought. _Or like Hirokazu._

His eyes were drawn out the window again, and he let himself curl back up into the comfy chair, pulling a blanket over to keep out any drafts as he took up his vigil again. _He's going to be back soon._ Takato told himself firmly. There was not even a trace of doubt in his mind.

Still, there was no doubting the fact this was the worst snowstorm in twenty years, nor the fact that Hirokazu _was_ very, very late. _There's nothing wrong_. Takato reminded himself consistently. There is nothing wrong. He stared at the cell phone in the recharger and mentally sighed. I _wish he'd taken that with him. But 'I won't need it, I won't be gone that long, I'll be fine'_!

He didn't like to worry too much, but this was a very special situation. Hirokazu had went out to an emergency meeting of his company just before the snow had gotten _really_ bad. Before that, it had mainly been cloudy, with a few flakes every now and then, that melted as soon as they touched the ground. The Weather Bureau had predicted that it would turn to a massive snowstorm, but they'd claimed it wouldn't be until the next day or so.

Instead, almost twenty minutes after Hirokazu and Takato had exchanged their farewells, the clouds had become thick and black, and a blizzard of epic proportions had twirled down out of the sky.

Rumor had it already that the Weather Bureau was looking for new jobs.

He stared out again, looking to see if there was _any_ sign of anyone coming. Hirokazu had taken the train to the meeting; they didn't have a car since Guilmon had decided the tires of their last one were a tasty between meals snack. He'd already heard on the news that the trains had been shut down and people were trapped on them until the snow could be cleared. It wasn't exactly a national disaster, but it would do until they found a better one.

Takato tried very hard not to think about Hirokazu cold and alone and hungry on a train somewhere between their apartment and the office building. He wasn't having a great deal of luck doing it. He sipped at a cup of hot chocolate he'd made and wondered. _Was he on the way home? Had he gotten on the train? Maybe someone offered him a ride. He better not have tried to walk. I bet he did. That's just like him_.

He almost jumped out of his skin when the phone rang, and snatched it up at once. "Moshi moshi." _Hirokazu._ He prayed for a moment before hearing a different voice on the other end. "Oh, it's you, Ruki."

"Well, don't sound so enthusiastic, Takato!" Ruki snapped back at him, having lost very little of her sarcastic tongue over the years. "I just called to see if everything's all right over there. I just heard from Kenta, the power is out at their place and it probably will be for a while."

Takato shivered in sympathy, he could only imagine how cold it was going to get before the power could be restored. "Well, he and Ryo are going to be keeping themselves warm, I bet." _I am not jealous of them, I am not jealous of them_. He paused mentally. _All right, I **am** jealous of them_.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Ruki sounded just a trifle smug, and he couldn't say he blamed her. If the power went out where she was, she and Renamon would be keeping themselves warm very easily. "How are things over where you are?"

"I'm waiting for Hirokazu." Takato peered out the window again as he talked, and hoped that his worry couldn't be heard in his voice. Was that someone coming through the snow? No, it was just the way the wind was twisting the falling flakes about. "He's late."

He could almost sense the frown on Ruki's face. She was devoted to Renamon, but the Tamers were almost like a family, especially to her. If something bothered one of them, it bothered _all_ of them. "Why'd he go into work _today_? This storm's been threatening for a while, you know that."

"He wasn't going to, but there was some kind of emergency, and it didn't look that bad when he started out." Takato stared out the window again. "I tried to call up there earlier, but I didn't get an answer. I don't know what's going on." He did his best not to sound as if he were whining or overly worrying, but he couldn't bring himself to care if he did.

Ruki's sharp voice brought him back to himself. "He's probably found a place to stay for the night and he'll show up bright and early and wanting his breakfast. Just _relax_, worrying isn't going to bring him home any faster."

He could feel himself blushing deeply at that, then stiffened. _Was that...someone coming this way? No, just the wind aga...no, it is someone!_ "Wait a second..." He couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice. "He's out there! I'll talk to you later, Ruki!"

Without even waiting for a response, he slammed the phone down and ran out of the apartment, grabbing his shoes and jacket as he did. He pelted down the stairs and out the door, grabbing the jacketed person as they slugged along through the snow. He knew it was Hirokazu; every fiber in him resonated to the other man. Plus only Hirokazu would've looked up at him through frost-covered eyelashes and looked so adorable doing so. "Come on, Hirokazu, you need to get warm."

He wasn't sure if Hirokazu had even tried to answer him, and he really wasn't all that concerned about it at the moment. He could see a faint blue tinge on the other's cheeks, and getting rid of that was the most important thing at the moment. Takato almost carried him bodily into the apartment, shivering a bit himself as he did so, and slammed the door behind them. "Bathroom. Now."

Hirokazu didn't appear to be in the mood to object as he was steered towards the bathroom. Various items of clothing, full of melting snow and soaked already, fell to the floor, and soon Hirokazu was shivering and naked before his boyfriend. For once, sex wasn't on Takato's mind. Making sure his boyfriend didn't die of hypothermia was.

Takato worked quickly; filling up the tub with steaming hot water, adding a touch of scented bubble bath, lighting some of the aromatherapy candles that Jenrya had sent over on their last anniversary. By time he was done, Hirokazu was almost asleep on his feet.

"Sorry, you can't pass out just yet." The artist had developed quite a few muscles over the years, from all the working out they'd done with their Digimon, running around the Digital World saving it, fighting Wild One and Devas, wrestling in jello, and all the other things that they had done over the years. Plus the fact that Hirokazu wasn't _that_ heavy after all. He carefully picked the other young man up and slid him into the bathtub.

The brunette sighed softly as he felt the water close over his quivering chilled flesh, and his eyes fluttered briefly. "Mmmm...Takato..."

"It's me, Hirokazu." Takato smiled as he picked up a washcloth and soaked it with hot water and soap. "Just relax, I'm going to make you _all_ better."

The usually active young man really couldn't say that much of anything as he closed his eyes and let his mind drift away under his beloved's ministrations. Takato worked carefully, making sure all of Hirokazu was covered in hot soapy water. He even poured some into the thick brown hair, getting it soaked and washing it with all the tenderness he was capable of.

Steam fogged up the mirror as Takato took care of Hirokazu, pulling him out of the water only when ten tiny toes started to get wrinkled and pruney. _For someone in his twenties, he sure has small toes_. Takato grinned to himself as he carefully dried the other off, making sure not to rub too hard on anything sensitive.

By now Hirokazu was clean, dry, and warm, and Takato couldn't find himself surprised by the fact he was also sound asleep in his arms. _He tried to walk home. That **idiot**. I'm going to have to do something to him. He was pushing his way through all of **that** for who knows how long. If he catches a cold...or pneumonia._.. That was not a good thing; he had to make certain Hirokazu didn't get sick. He wasn't a doctor; he had no idea of how to do it. The only thing he could think of was to keep him as warm as he could. The easiest way to do that: pack him into bed and keep the covers tightly around him until he _knew_ there wasn't a chance of the other getting sick.

_I should also make him some chicken soup_, Takato mused to himself as he hauled Hirokazu into the bedroom. _Geez, he **could** wake up and help me instead of letting me drag him all over the apartment like a sack of potatoes_.

Quite soon, despite Takato's mental grousing, he had the other tucked firmly into bed, the heat turned up so that it felt more like the heart of summer than the depth of winter, and he was cooking a nice batch of soup in the kitchen. _Hmm...what else...I know, ginger ale. Mom always made me chicken soup, ginger ale, and crackers when I was sick! That'll fix him right up!_

Hirokazu's eyes fluttered a little as he heard something banging around in the kitchen, and then down the hall towards him. _I'm...home?_ It took him a minute to actually realize not only was he home, but he _wasn't_ half-frozen and once again walking through snow. He was warm and dry, with clean nightclothes on, and feeling far more relaxed than he had since this whole day had begun. _Whoa...how'd I get here?_ It was days like this that he wished he could take his partner with him, but having a Guardromon around wasn't always the easiest thing when he had to do business. He was better off staying at home with Guilmon.

The door swung open to admit a breeze of warmer air, and Takato, carrying a bedtray covered with a bowl of what smelled like delicious chicken soup. A few crackers and a soda sat near it, and Hirokazu felt his heart melting at the sight of it. Takato wasn't the greatest cook in the world, in any world, but right now he looked so happy and so eager to please Hirokazu would have eaten tree roots and claimed they were delicious, just to keep that look in his eyes.

"Hey, Takato," he grinned wildly at him. "So what have _you_ been doing all day while I was playing in the snow?"

Takato grinned back at him as he sat the tray down near him. "Making sure you're alive to play in the snow another day, Hirokazu. You're going to eat this so you don't get sick."

"Me, get sick?" The brunette snorted. "I don't _get_ sick, remember?" It was true; in all the years they'd known each other Hirokazu had always been the one who had taken care of Takato whenever he had fallen ill. Never had _he_ been the one who was sick.

Takato wasn't going to be taking no for an answer, though. He pointed to the soup. "Eat. Drink. Sleep."

"I'm not Guilmon, you don't have to put things in one word." Hirokazu grumbled even as he was reaching for the spoon. He was feeling a little hungry, and the soup _was_ good, he decided as the first spoonful slid down his throat. Takato hovered over him, tugging the pillows into place, smoothing out wrinkles, getting a brush and working the tangles out of his thick brown hair..._This could get **so** addictive._

Once all the soup was safely in him, he could feel himself getting more and more sleepy. "You need to get some rest, love." Takato told him briskly as he swept away the dishes.

"Yeah...I s'pose so." He couldn't seem to think quite right at the moment. It was all fuzzy. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, but it didn't do much good. Takato pushed him back onto the bed, wordlessly demanding he rest. He didn't really have the energy to deny him that at the moment, either. Without protest, quite unnatural for him, he slid into the dark grip of sleep and remained there.

Takato smiled briefly as the door shut behind him, and a moment later he could clearly hear the buzzing rasp of Hirokazu snoring. T_hat's going to keep me awake tonight._ He thought fondly as he went back to the kitchen to clean up. _But he could probably use the extra body warmth._

The snowstorm outside was still going strong, but he didn't pay any attention to it now. What mattered wasn't the storm, but what it had blew in. Hirokazu was home safe and was tucked away into bed. _I don't think he'll need to go to the doctor, he looked all right. Just a little frosty. I can fix that,_ Takato decided as he cleaned up and checked on their partners. Both Guardromon and Guilmon were asleep, snoozing in the warm darkness of their shared room. They didn't have the romance that their partners did, but they still liked to cuddle for warmth and companionship on occasion. Guardromon could generate internal heat, and Guilmon was naturally warm, being a dragon type Digimon, so they seldom had to do much effort to stay comfortable. He watched them for a moment, then quietly shut the door again, his eyes already seeking out the door behind which Hirokazu slept.

He looked almost like an angel laying there, so out of it. _You'd never know he's a powermonger in the card game_. They still played on occasion; and Hirokazu still had a tendency to go overboard on powering up his fighting cards, but Takato couldn't find it in his heart to be upset about it. That was just part of what Hirokazu was, and he wouldn't love him if he wasn't like that.

_Some people say he was too cocky when he was a kid...maybe he was, but he never let anyone down, ever._ Takato slid into his own pajamas and curled up next to Hirokazu. _Always there when I needed him..._ His own mind was starting to fade a little into sleep; he'd worn himself out worrying and fussing over his beloved. He snuggled up close to Hirokazu, who snuggled back in his sleep. "Love you."

"Love you too, Takato." He heard murmured back, and warm arms cuddled him. This was peace. This was love. This was their life.

**The End**


End file.
